Projectile



Patented Aug. 17, 1937 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in projectile construction, or fabrication, said projectile being provided with a system of air ducts having inception in the nose, or at the shoulders of the projectile and passing, thence to the rear, or posterior part, where such air conveyance system terminates in a port and a valve.

The objects of the improvement are, first to decrease the time of flight factor of projectiles by the elimination, to a great extent of air pressure upon the shoulders of the projectile consequent, of its forward motion; and, further, to eliminate, as far as practicable, the vacuum set up by the square shoulders of the expansion face, also consequent of the forward motion of the shell, second, to afford facilities, which assure closure of such air passages while the projectile is in the bore from a brief instant after ignition up until the projectile has finally left the bore, third, to

provide a projectile having these advantages, which is of itself consistent with contemporary shell contours, easy to manufacture, easy to charge, and fourth, to provide a projectile of this nature which may be adapted, as occasion directs,

to become either a high explosive, semi-shrapnel (so called) or armour piercing shell not lacking in space for bullets, explosive, or both, within its interior dimension.

With the above and other objects in view the 3 invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of a projectile constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the projectile I showing the entrance ports of the air ducts in the nose and showing the plugged openings for priming the projectile.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the projectile showing the ball valve and its retaining cage.

Figure 4 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the anterior portion of the projectile taken on a plane disposed at an angle of 90 degrees relatively to the same part of the projectile shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, I0 designates the case of the projectile the same as usual being formed of steel and bearing on its thickened posterior portion a rotating or driving band I I. Crimping grooves i2 encircle the case to permit application of a brass cartridge case, the grooves and the driving band 5 corresponding to those to be found in the usual service case.

The case is provided with an axial tube I3 which is rigidly secured at the rear end in an opening I4 formed at the center of the rear wall. 10 The tube constitutes an air duct and at the rear end is provided with a valve seat I5 to receive a ball valve I6. A spider I! is fixed at the ends to the expansion face of the projectile in any preferred manner and forms a cage for limiting opening movement of the valve to unseal the air duct, as well as to retain the ball valve in the vicinity of its seat.

The forward end of the tube receives an axial sleeve I8 which is integral with the nose I9 of the 20 projectile. The nose is provided with a second sleeve 20 which has a screw threaded engagement 24 with the case I 0. Air ducts 22 are formed in the shoulders of the nose or that part of the nose adjacent to the case I0, and are disposed at an angle of about 50 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the projectile. The meeting inner ends of the air ducts 22 merge with the forward end of the tube l2. The air ducts 22 terminate in entrance ports 23 which are somewhat oval in contour to 30 facilitate the withdrawal of air impinging upon the nose at the shoulders from whence it passes through the inclined ducts 22 and the axial duct I3 and exhausts around the open ball valve I6 when the projectile is in flight. 35

A concussion fuse 24 is secured in an axial opening 25 formed in the nose and is screw threadedly engaged with the nose as shown at 26. The opening extends beyond the rear end of the fuse and forms a primer chamber 21. 4

Primer ducts 28 are formed radially in the nose and communicate at their inner ends with the primer chamber 21. The outer ends of the primer ducts are closed by threaded plugs 29, as best shown in Figure 4. Longitudinal primer ducts 30 45 are formed in the nose and open at their front ends into the primer ducts Z8 and open at their rear ends through the rear face of the nose as shown. The primer ducts 30 are spaced in an angular direction, degrees from the air ducts. 50

The nose I!) of the projectile may be charged by covering the ducts 30, at their surface terminations, with paper and unscrewing one of the plugs 29 of the primer ducts. The primer mixture may be passed into the open primer duct to 55 eventually fill up the primer chamber 21, and the longitudinal primer ducts 3E). The concussion fuse 2 3 which has been previously removed and replaced with a wood plug, may now be inserted.

In order to charge the projectile case Ill standard practices maybe followed. As a variant, however, the entire projectile may be assembled excepting the fuse. Then, if a liquifiable detonant is used, same may be poured into the opening 25. The detonant will, if the shell is upright, pass through primer chamber 2'! and primer ducts 28 and 3E! into the case. When sufficient detonant has been'added the projectile may be set aside to allow the detonant to solidify, after which time the primer mixture and the fuse may be added W to the nose as above explained,

In operation when the projectile has been properly seated in the gun chamber either through its inclusion in a cartridge or by virtue of its having,

been forced home and seated preparatory to the insertion of a powder charge, the ball valve IE will be in open position and bearing against the retaining cage ll. When the powder charge has been ignited, the force of the expanding gases closes the ball valve against its seat l5 whereupon the full pressure of the expanding gases is concentrated upon the expansion face or rear face of the projectile base, and the projectile is consequently driven up the gun bore where it attains rotarymotion by the rifling in the bore penetrating the rotating or driving band H. When the projectile has finally left the gun and is in flight along its trajectory the ball valve I6 is forced open to again rest upon the cage ll, due to the coaction of the vacuum exerted upon the expansion face of the case, as is well known in the theory of gunnery, and of an air stream from the nose or shoulders of the projectile which stream enters the projectile. through the ports 23 and inclined ducts 22 and traverses the longitudinal duct l3. 1

The air thus withdrawn from the nose or shoulders of the projectile and discharged through the base of the case, serves to dispel, or partly dispel, the vacuum at the base of the case. This fiow of air through the case thus promotes greater sustained velocity than. is to be found in a projectile without the features above enumerated.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

1. A projectile comprising a case, a nose, air ducts extending from the nose through the case and opening through the shoulders of the nose and through the expansion face of the case, and a ball valve seated in the expansion face and controlling said ducts.

2. A projectile comprising a case, a nose attached to the case, inclined air ducts opening through the nose at the shoulders thereof and merging at their inner ends at the longitudinal axis of the nose, a longitudinal air duct in the case communicating at the forward end with the juncture of the first named ducts and opening at the rear end through the expansion face of the case, a ball valve controlling the opening of the duct in said expansion face, and a cage for the ball valve carried by the expansion face.

3. A projectile comprising a case, a nose for the case, priming openings in the nose, a priming chamber, a fuse in said chamber, inclined air ducts in the nose disposed laterally of the priming openings and opening through the shoulders of the nose and extending to the axis of the nose, a longitudinal air duct in the case communicating at the front end with the twin air ducts and opening through the expansion face at the base of the case, a valve seat in the expansion face co inciding with the longitudinal air duct, a ball valve in said seat, and a cage carried by the expansion face limiting movement of the ball valve in unseating direction.

4. A projectile comprising a case, a nose connected with the case, a substantially Y-shaped air duct in the case and in the nose adapted to conduct air from the shoulders of the nose and discharge same through the expansion face of the case when the projectile is in flight, a port for the duct in said expansion face, and a ball valve controlling said port and adapted to retain the gases of explosion behind the case while the projectile is in a gun bore.

JUSTIN T. HOWDESHELL. 

